Rail track fastening



Dec. 28, 1948. H. RUSHING 2,457,180

RAIL TRACK FASTENING Filed March 24, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 28, 1948. HHH H HH G r 2,457,180

Patented Dec. 28, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAIL TRACK FASTENING Herschel Lee Rushing; Nashville, Tenn.

Application March 24, 1945, Serial No. 584,636

6 Claims.

' This invention relates to the fastening or tying of track rails, particularly heavy duty railway track rails, to the track supporting cross ties of a roadbed.

In my prior Patent No. 2,235,777, issued March 18, 1941, there is disclosed a rail track fastening assembly which includes a tie plate part adapted to be spiked to a cross tie and to support a track rail from below, and a brace or buck plate part at oneior both ends of the tie plate part in abutting relation thereto and permitting vertical movement of the tie plate part relatively to the buck plate part or parts so that although passing traffic causes the tie plate part to move up and down relatively to the cross tie and to gradually become sunk some distance into the tie itself, the buck plate part or parts will not move or become displaced vertically relatively to the tie, while at the same time maintaining its abutting relation with the tie plate part and tending to prevent the tie plate part from moving or being shifted horizontally on the tie by the action of traffic. The present invention is an improvement on the invention of said patent in various respects.

Accordingly a principal object of the present invention is to provide a track rail fastening assembly which is an improvement over the track rail fastening assembly disclosed in my said prior patent, and to provide a track rail fastening assembly which is adapted to serve more effec- I tively and well and for a longer time and under more severe strains and forces of trailic to hold the rail against being moved or displaced laterally on the cross tie; and another object of this invention is to provide a track rail fastening assembly which results in the cross-tie having a longer life of efficient and safe service and conserves the tie against damage as a result of trafiic shocks and strains, weather conditions, the presence of moisture, dirt,- etc.

A further object of this invention is to provide a track rail fastening assembly which is anchored or fastened to the cross tie against lateral movement or displacement thereon more strongly and firmly and has greater resistance to becoming loosened by the shocks and strains of trafiic and resists becoming loosened over a longer period of time.

- Other objects of this invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter. In accordance with this invention the track rail fastening assembly is provided with improved means for fastening the buck plate part of the assembly to the cross tie and whereby the objects, improvements and advantages of the present invention are obtained; the invention consisting in the combinations of elements, arrangements of parts and features of construction which will be set forth hereinafter and the scope of the application ofwhich will be set forth in the claims that follow,

In the drawings which show the preferred embodiments of the invention as now employed and in which like characters of reference refer to like parts through the several views Figure l is a perspective view of my improved tying means shown for purposes ofillustration, on a railway wooden tie;

Figure 2 is a perspective view, similar to Figure 1, but showing a modified construction of the tying means; v

Figure 3 is a full size sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 1 and illustrating the spikes employed;

Figure 4 is a full size sectional View taken substantially on line 55 of Figure 2 and illustrating the spikes employed; and

Figure 5 is a full size sectional View, similar to Figure 4, of a further modified construction of the buck-plate art.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 7

Referring to the drawings, the track-rail fastening and supporting assembly includes a railtie-plate part Ill adapted to be spiked to the top surface of a tie H, as by spikes 13 which have heads overlapping the base flange l5 of the rail R and by other hold-down spikes IS. The tie plate part H] has portions extending laterally of thetrack rail when the track rail is in place on the tie-plate part and having an upstanding lip l4 along. the outer edge of one or both of said laterally extending portions, the outer surface of the lip or lips constituting a bearing or chafing surface. A buck-plate part 30 or 30a having an upstanding lip I48 or l wa along'its inner edge is adapted to be placed on the tie to extend laterally outwardly from the tie-plate part and with.

its outer face of the lip M0 or Mile juxtaposed against the bearing surface presented by the lip l4 of-the tie-plate member i0, permitting vertical displacement of the tie-plate part relatively to the buck-plate part. The buck-plate part has at least two spike openings 28 each extending in a vertical plane at an acute angle downwardly of the assembly and toward the line of thrust, and a headed screw spike I8 is adapted to extend through each spike opening and to be screwed home-in the tie with the head h of the spike brought tightly down on the buck-plate part, whereby when the assembly is secured in place on a tie and supporting a track rail the tie-plate part is adapted to be moved up and down and to be sunk into the tie due to forces of traffic applied to the track rail without disturbing the position of the buck-plate part on the tie, and lateral outward forces transmitted to the buck-plate part through the rail tie plate part will be transmitted to the screw spike in a direction longitudinal of the axis of the spike and the buck-plate part and tie-plate part are held against shifting laterally of the track rail. (The direction of the thrust being indicated by the arrow a in Fig. 1 and by the arrow 1) in Fig. 2.) The spike openings in the buck-plate part are positioned to lie on cpposite sides of the central line of the tie. ,At each spike opening the buck-plate part preferably has a boss 2| on its upper surface penetrated by the spike hole and having a top surface 22 at right angles to the axis of the spike hole, the flange h of the head of the spike being adapted to seat flat against the top surface of the boss when the spike is screwed home in the tie. There may be a buck-plate part at each end of the tie-plate part or only at one end of the tie-plate part of the assembly.

These screw spikes l8 have elongated tapered shanks provided with a deep wood-screw thread if on more than half the lower end of the shank and a cylindrical portion between the thread and a circular head flange h. Above the head flange h is a polygonal projection p to receive and cooperate with a wrench, or other tool, for screwing the spike into position. I To secure the buck plate parts 30 and 30a in place, an initial opening, of less than the diameter of the shank of the screw spike, should be bored into the tie with a suitable boring tool; and, to this end, the buck plate parts 30 and 30a may be positioned, as shown, against the plate member I!) to determine the location and angle the initial opening will assume and the boring may be made through and coaxially with the hole (using the holes 20 as jigs), or otherwise, so that the initial openings will be at the same angle as, and coaxial with, the holes 20. Screw spikes It are then inserted through the holes 20 and screwed into place, by suitable tool applied to the projection 0, until the under surface of the spike head it bears tightly and firmly against the bearing sur face 22, thus binding with great force the buckplat-e part against the tie I l and the end surface of the plate member l0, It has been found that the oblique angle of the axis of the screw spike l8 and/or of the hole 20 should be about degrees, or a little more or less, with respect to the vertical (or in other words, the acute and obtuse angles 30 and 60, respectively, with relation to the horizontal plane) of the buck-plate part and of the tie H so as to allow the spikes Hi to be positioned in the tie II, with respect to the grain of the latter,as will obtain the maximum holding and binding effect from the grain of the wood tie while, at the same time, any lateral thrust transmitted to it, from a plate member ID, is in turn transmitted by the bearing surface 22 (or the equivalent of the latter) against the head h of the spike l8 to exert a pull on the spike in a direction longi-' tudinally of the axis thereof without binding against the cylindrical portion 0 of the spike and without imparting such motion laterally to the spike as enlarges the spike opening in the tie,

that reduces its holding power, Spike-kills the tie and throat-cuts the spike. Due to this construction, if there should be any relative motion between the plate member ID and the spike i8 such motion will be longitudinal of the spike because the inclined 0r oblique wall of the hole 20 will slide upwardly on the portion 0 of the spike, requiring only that the spike be further tightened down.

It is also a feature of the present improvement that each of the spikes l8 be provided on its upper end with a projection 23 preferably oi cylindrical form and preferably about inch in diameter and /4 inch long, which will be easily collapsible mushroomed, mashed, or otherwise deformed if the spike is maul-driven instead of being screwed into the tie II. This projection may be provided from the material integral with the spike or may be provided by swedging or sweating into a bore in the upper end of the spike, a piece of malleable metal which will project from the top thereof, as shown. The purpose of this deformable projection 23 is to act as a "teli tale" to the track maintenance inspectors, with only casual inspection, in the event that the screw spike is driven by a maul into the tie instead of being screwed therein and, therefore, should be replaced. When said screw spikes is are driven into the tie, instead Of being screwed in. place, their efficienc is lost and the opening within the tie is torn to such an extent that the holding properties of the spike are lost.

When the screw spikes iii are employed, the tendency is for the spike to compress the material or the tie, contiguous to it, and for this material to bulge outwardly toward the top of the spike opening. It is, therefore, additionally proposed to recess, as at 24, the under surface of the buck plate-parts so and and adjacent the openings 2% so as to accommodate the bulge in the tie caused by the spike in order that the buck-plate parts may rest substantially flat upon the upper surface of the tie throughout its entire area. Ordinarily, it is sufficientthat such recesses 24 be about /4 deep andabout 2" in diameter,

The form of the buck-plate parts 302? shown in Figure 5 is substantially the same as that shown in Figures 1 and 2, except that it is wider and provided with two additional spike holes 2M, and corres onding spikes 18 for exceptionally heavy uses, the four holes '20 being arranged in tandern'pairs.

The above described invention and improve ment greatly extends the range of use of the invention described in United States Patent No.- 2,235,'7'7'7, particularly in connection with switch plates of various types, frogs and guard rails where the lateralv thrust outwardly from the gauge side of the track is enormous with heavy high speed trains and which thrust, when not resisted by the present improvement, results in very quick" deterioration of the tie, of the spiking and other maiadjustments with consequent spreading or rails and serious accidents and expensive track maintenance.

Having thus described the invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, it isto be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact form shown andle scribed herein as the same may be varied and modified in the various ways, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the invention.

That which is claimed as new is:

'1. A buck-plate securable to a rail-tie beyond and in'abut'ting engagement with an end portion of a standard metal track-rail supporting plate so that the latter may have a relative vertical movement with respect to said buck-plate, said buck-plate having a substantially flat tie engaging bottom surface and having spike holes extending through from its top and bottom surfaces in a direction oblique to the plane of said buck-plate and with their upper ends at an acute angle to the direction of the thrustapplied to the buck-plate from said rail supporting plate, said holes each having its axis lying in a plane substantially transverse to the track-rail to be supported by said track supporting plate, bosses on the upper surface of said buck-plate forming and defining elongated continuations of said holes, respectively and having top'surfaces at right angles to the axes of said holes, headed screw spikes to be extended through said holes and guided and positioned by the holes into said tie at said oblique angle corresponding to the axis of said holes and with their heads bearing against the top surface of said bosses, whereby thrust exerted by said track-rail supporting plate to said buck-plate will be transmitted to said spikes and exerted thereon in a direction longitudinally of the spikes, and recesses in the bottom surface of said buck-plate and one of such recesses surrounding each of said holes therein to accommodate bulges produced on the adjacent surface of the tie by said spikes driven into said tie.

2. A track-rail supporting assembly adapted to be associated with a wooden tie, including, in combination, a rail tie-plate part, means securing said part and a rail thereon to said tie for limited vertical movement with respect to the tie and having portions extending laterally of the track rail when the track rail is in place on the tie-plate part and having a bearing portion along the outer edge of one of said laterally extending portions, and a buck-plate part having a bearing surface along its inner edge and adapted to be placed on the tie to extend laterally outwardly of the tie-plate part and with its said bearing surface juxtaposed in vertical planar contact against the bearing portion of the tie-plate part permitting vertical displacement of the tie-plate part relatively to the buck-plate part, said buckplate part having a spike opening extending in a vertical plane at an acute angle downwardly in a direction generally opposite to the direction of lateral thrust of the track rail and tie-plate part, and a headed screw spike adapted to extend through said spike opening and to be screwed home in the tie with the head of the spike brought tightly down on the buck-plate part, whereby when the assembly is secured in place on a tie and supporting a track-rail the tie-plate part is adapted to be moved up and down and to be sunk into the tie due to forces of traffic applied to the track-rail without disturbing the position of the buck-plate part on the tie, and lateral thrust forces transmitted to the buck-plate part through the track-rail and tie-plate part will be transmitted to the screw spike partly in a direction longitudinally of the axis of the spike thereby reducing the shearing action on the spike and the assembly held against shifting laterally of the tie.

3. A track-rail supporting assembly adapted to be associated with a wooden tie, including, in combination, a rail tie-plate part, means securing said part and a rail thereon to said tie for limited vertical movement with respect to the tie and having portions extending laterally of the track rail when the track rail is in place on the tie-plate part and having a bearing portion along the outer edge of one or said laterally extending portions, and a buck-plate part having a bearing surface along its inner edge and adapted to be placed on the tie to extend laterally outwardly of the tie-plate part and with its said bearing surface juxtaposed in vertical planar contact against the bearing portion of the tie-plate part permitting vertical displacement of the tie-plate part relatively to the buck-plate part, said buckplate part having a spike opening extending in a vertical plane at an acute angle downwardly in a direction generally opposite to the direction of lateral thrust of the track rail and tie-plate part, and a headed screw spike adapted to extend through said spike opening and to be screwed home in the tie with the head of the spike brought tightly down on the buck-plate part whereby when the assembly is secured in place on a tie and supporting a track rail the tie-plate part is adapted to be moved up and down and to be sunk into the tie due to forces of traflic applied to the track rail without disturbing the position of the buck-plate part on the tie, and lateral thrust forces transmitted to the buck-plate part through the track rail and tie-plate parts will be transmitted to the screw spike partl in a direction longitudinal of the axis of the spike thereby reducing the shearing action on the spike and the assembly held against shifting laterally of the tie, said buck-plate part having a boss on its upper surface penetrated by said spike hole and having a top surface at right angles to the axis of the spike hole, the flange of the head of the spike being adapted to press flat against the top surface of the boss when the spike is screwed home in the tie.

4. A track-rail supporting assembly adapted to be associated with a wooden tie, including, in combination, a rail tie-plate part, means securing said part and a rail thereon to said tie for limited vertical movement with respect to the tie and having portions extending laterally of the track rail when the track rail is in place on the tie-plate part and having a bearing portion along the outer edge of one of said laterally extending portions, and a buck-plate part having a bearing surface along its inner edge and adapted to be placed on the tie to extend laterally outwardly of the tie-plate part and with its said bearing surface juxtaposed in vertical planar contact against the bearing portion of the tie-plate part permitting vertical displacement of the tie-plate part relatively to the buck-plate part, said buckplate part having a spike opening extending in a vertical plane at an acute angle downwardly in a direction generally opposite to the direction of lateral thrust of the track rail and tie-plate part, and a headed screw spike adapted to extend through said spike opening and to be screwed home in the tie with the head of the spike brought tightly down on the buck plate part, whereby when the assembly is secured in place on a tie and supporting a track rail the tie-plate part is adapted to be moved up and down and to be sunk into the tie due to forces of trafiic applied to the track rail without disturbing the position of the buck-plate part on the tie, and lateral thrust forces transmitted to the buck-plate part through the rail tie plate part will be transmitted to the screw spike partly in a direction longitudinal of the axis of the spike thereby reducing the shearing action on the spike and assembly held against shifting laterally of the tie, the underside of the buck-plate part being recessed about the spike opening, said recess being adapted to receive material of the tie displaced upwardly by the screwing of the spike into the tie, whereby the upwardly displaced tie material does not interfere with the buck-plate part lying fiat upon the tie,

. ,A track-rail assembly as set forth in claim 2 and in which the spike opening in the buckplate part extends inwardly toward the tie-plate part.

6. A louckmlate seeurable to a rail tie beyond and in abutting engagement with an end portien of a standard metal track-rail supporting plate so that the latter may have a, relative Vertical movement with respect to said buck-plate, said buck-plate having a substantially fiat tie engaging bottom surface and having spike holes extending through its top and bottom surfaces in :a direction oblique to the plane of said hunk-plate and. with their upper ends at an acute angle to the direction of the thrust applied to the buckplate from said rail supporting plate, said holes each having its axes lying in a plane substantially transverse to the track-rail to be supported by said track supporting plate, bosses on the uppersurface of said buck-plate forming and defining elongated continuations of said holes,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,020,298 Maney Mar. 12, 1912 1,178,763 'Ta'lbott Apr. 11, 1916 1,261,916 Forbes Apr. 9, 1918 1,749,043 Neiser Mar. 4, 1930 11,863,197 Faries et a1 June 1-4, 1932 2,235,777 Bushing 18, 1941 

